Snowden (2016)
It would seem a daunting proposition to try to give a dramatization of events and issues that have already been captured brilliantly on film just a couple of years prior, as Snowden reenacts a good deal...
Tagged: Nicolas Cage
Joe (2013)
While it may pale somewhat in comparison to another independent film with a title that is monosyllabic nickname for coffee, Mud, Joe still ultimately emerges as a fine, lesser companion piece than a just a simple variation...
Raising Arizona (1987)
Joel and Ethan Coen follow up their neo-noir breakthrough, Blood Simple, with an entirely different but no less satisfying follow-up, Raising Arizona, which plays out like a somewhat broad and inherently silly farce, but with a...
Kick-Ass (2010)
Many before me have commented that Kick-Ass, the movie, is also a kick-ass movie, and I’ll just say that I agree with that assessment. Having been a minor fan of the Mark Millar/John Romita Jr....
It Could Happen to You (1994)
An old-fashioned romantic comedy, reportedly inspired by a true story (although the real-life story had the waitress actually contribute in the picking of the Lotto numbers, which made the split winnings more believable), shows...
National Treasure: Book of Secrets (2007)
“More of the same” perhaps was the prevailing mantra during every phase of the conception for this sequel to the 2004 hit National Treasure, as it basically covers every base touched by the first film...
Ghost Rider (2007)
One of Marvel’s second-tier “superhero” comics combines elements that were popular in the 1970s, including horror influences, motorcycle stunts, and a nomad protagonist who righted wrongs wherever he was needed. “Ghost Rider” wasn’t exactly...
Moonstruck (1987)
Moonstruck is a critically-acclaimed crowd-pleasing romance that would go on to garner six Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture, with trophies handed out to Cher (The Witches of Eastwick, Mask), Dukakis (I Love Trouble, Mighty Aphrodite),...
World Trade Center (2006)
Oliver Stone (U Turn, JFK) is no stranger to controversy, and making World Trade Center only five years after many Americans had witnessed the most disturbing sight in their lifetimes certainly ripped open wounds in the...
The Weather Man (2005)
It’s Nicolas Cage doing what he does best, play a self-defeating loser, in The Weather Man, a bigger budget Hollywood release that feels like a small, quirky independent comedy. It’s a comedy that just barely...